Albizia procera
Family : Leguminosae - Mimosoideae
Common Name : White siris, Tall albizia
English Name : White siris, Tall albizia
Hindi Name : Safed siris
Telugu Name : Chigara
Bengali Name : Koroi, Modeloa
Tree Characteristics :
White siris is native to moist deciduous and semievergreen hill forests, swamp forests, and lowland savanna woodlands in Asia from northern India through southeast Asia. It is a fast-growing deciduous tree that generally reaches 10 to 20 m in height and has a straight to somewhat curved stem, smoothish light brown to light greenish gray bark, and a spreading thin crown. It grows best on very moist, alluvial sites of well-drained loams or clays but can tolerate shallow, dry, stony, and sandy soils. Leaves about 40 cm long; pinnae about 4–12, 15–20 cm long; leaflets 12–20, oblong-elliptic, rounded or retuse, 2–5 cm long, oblique. Flowering generally occurs during the rainy season. The fruits ripen 6 to 9 months after flowering, each contains 6 to 12 seeds.
Nursery Practice :
The pods fall to the ground during the month of May. The ripe pods are collected from the trees before they dehisce during the month of April. The pods are dried in the sun, beaten and winnowed to obtain the seeds. Soaking in boiling water and allowed to cool for 24 hours; or soaking in cold water for 48 hours. Sowing is done in April to May in unshaded primary beds (i.e. in drills spaced about 7.6 x 7.6 cms). Seedlings are pricked out into the polybags when 2 months old.
Stumps prepared from 1 to 2 year old plants, give very good results. No. of Seeds per Kg is19,380 to 24,000; Germination percentage is 50 to 80 and the Germination Periodis 7 to 25.
Economic Use:
The wood is used chiefly for construction, furniture, veneer, cabinet work, flooring, agricultural implements, moulding, carts, carriages, cane crushers, carvings, boats, oars, oil presses and rice pounders. It is resistant to several species of termites. The chemical analysis of the wood indicates that it is a suitable material for paper pulp.
All parts of the plant are reported to show anti-cancer activity.
